Nordic Ski Team Ends Season on High Note with Kleiss' Win

By James BerryTeam Captain

Last week, the MIT Nordic Ski Team travelled to the foot of Mt.
Washington in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire for the United States Collegiate
Ski Association Championships. Teams from all over the country came to
compete in the final races of the season.

The Women's 10K Classic and Men's 15K Classic both took place on
Wednesday, March 11. Competition began in the morning with the women's 10K
classic race. At 9:00 a.m., the thermometer just peeked over 10 degrees.
Cold temperatures didn't phase the skiers in the long race, however, as
Jessica Kleiss '00 finished strong in 11th place, and Adrienne Slaughter
'98 broke into the top 20.

Later that morning the men's 15K Classic, also a mass start, got under
way. Several kilometers into the race, one of the skiers in the lead pack
fell, bringing down five people behind him. Jim Berry '99 found himself in
the middle of this mess, and it took him several seconds to get untangled.
He came back strong, however, to finish in 4th place, just 50 seconds
behind the winner. Jeff Doering '99 also had a strong race, finishing 13th
in a pack of five skiers. Derek Southwell '01 raced hard to a 20th place
finish. First-year skier Chris Bruce '98 enjoyed good conditioning and
solid waxing to finish ahead of a pack of more experienced skiers.

Competition continued on Friday with the Women's 7.5K Freestyle and the
Men's 10K Freestyle. The conditions had changed significantly since the
race on Wednesday. By Friday, the trails had become icy and fast. The women
raced first in the 7.5K Freestyle. This race demands intense concentration
from skiers because the interval start gives makes it unclear who is in
what place during the race. Kleiss, a strong skater, tore up the course,
beating rival Katie Johnson from Clarkson by almost 30 seconds and earning
the title of National Champion. Slaughter also improved on Wednesday's
performance, finishing 13th.

"I had no idea I had won until after I finished," said Kleiss, who had
never won a race during the regular season, "But I knew I was doing well.
The conditions were perfect for me." Kleiss, a sophomore, looks forward to
the next two years and hopes to improve and dominate the league.

The weather warmed up a bit before the men's 10K freestyle, making the
conditions even faster. Doering posted the best MIT finish with 14th place.
Berry powered his way through the hilly course to finish only five seconds
behind Doering. Southwell showed his strength in skating by improving to
17th place. Bruce picked off a few more racers for 30th place.

The competition wrapped up on Saturday with the Women's 3 * 5K Relay and
the Men's 3 * 7.5K Relay. The conditions had drastically changed for these
relay races. Cold, near-blizzard conditions swept through Mt. Washington
Valley as the team prepared to race. The men's team of Berry, Southwell,
and Doering posted a strong 5th place finish in the 3 * 7.5K relay. Since
the women could not field a full team, Bruce joined forces with Kleiss and
Slaughter to form an unofficial team for the 3 * 5K relay. Starting one
minute behind the official teams, they skated to a first place finish among
the unofficial teams.

With one National Champion and several other strong individual finishes,
the Nordic ski team finished its season on a high note. And with only two
graduating seniors, they look for an even better season next year.